scholarly journals Economic stress in non-poor Spanish households during the Great Recession

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (82) ◽  
pp. 19-45
Author(s):  
Carmen Ródenas ◽  
Mónica Martí ◽  
Ángel León
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Economic Stress ◽  
Work Intensity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
The People ◽  
Main Variable ◽  
Household Members

Purpose This paper aims to focus on non-poor households that during the Great Recession experienced economic stress (ES). That is, whose economic comfort was reduced taking into account their previous living standards. The paper seeks to determine how the crisis has affected this extensive (and key) social group. Design/methodology/approach The analysis has been performed in a dynamic way. The non-poor households ES situation and its changes are studied throughout the period 2008-2016 by taking the four-year intervals provided by the longitudinal Spanish Living Conditions Survey. The authors discuss and select the circumstances to determine whether ES has occurred. To identify which variables determine the probability of suffering ES the authors use a standard logit model. Findings The main variable is the tenure status of the dwelling: property with a mortgage or rented multiply the risk of ES by up to 3.5 times. ES falls as the household’s work intensity increases. However, an improvement in the employment situation cannot be associated with a reduction in ES probability. The main socio-demographic variables behave as predicted: woman householder, grow in the number of household members and bad health increase the risk of ES, and the higher the level of education of the householder, the lower the risk. Originality/value There are very few studies regarding the people above the poverty line. Exploring and analyzing the factors determining the sensitivity of the largest part of the population to the crisis is very relevant, as the pace of the economic recovery depends largely on them.

Consumption, unemployment and the Great Recession

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 724-743
Author(s):  
Joaquín Alegre ◽  
Llorenç Pou
Keyword(s):  
Business Cycle ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Consumption Smoothing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Household Members ◽  
The Business Cycle ◽  
Unemployment Spells ◽  
Unemployment Persistence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether households with members that experience job loss shocks are able to protect their previous level of consumption. The paper also tests whether consumption protection is affected when spells persist through time. Design/methodology/approach – The paper estimates an intertemporal consumption model, where households try to smooth their marginal utility over time. For that purpose it analyses Spanish household budget surveys that span a long period, 1999-2012, including the Great Recession. Unlike most consumption datasets, this microdata is designed as a panel and provides detailed information for all consumption categories as well as household members’ labour status. Findings – The paper finds that consumption smoothing is dependent on the household member facing the unemployment transition. In particular, only main breadwinner’s unemployment transitions affects consumption smoothing. It also shows that the consumption drop persists beyond the period of the job loss for ongoing spells, although it follows a decreasing pattern. Finally, the estimation results are stable over the business cycle. Practical implications – The results suggest that Spanish households are not capable of fully insuring against main breadwinner’s unemployment shocks. Further, the results show that this effect remains up to two years for ongoing unemployment spells. Thus these results highlight a welfare loss by Spanish households with unemployed members. Originality/value – The paper extends the usual analysis of job loss shocks by the main breadwinner to include the cases of both the spouse and the rest of household members, who tend to account for most unemployment. Further, it tests for unemployment persistence. Finally, it checks the sensitivity of the results to the business cycle, including the Great Recession.

Unemployment, social protection spending and child poverty in the European Union during the Great Recession

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yekaterina Chzhen
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Contextual Effect ◽  
Income Poverty ◽  
Work Intensity ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Working Age

The 2008 financial crisis triggered the first contraction of the world economy in the post-war era. This article investigates the effect of the Great Recession on child poverty across the EU-27 plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland and studies the extent to which social protection spending may have softened the negative impact of the economic crisis on children. While the risks of child poverty are substantially higher in countries with higher rates of working-age unemployment, suggesting a significant impact of the Great Recession on household incomes via the labour market, the study finds evidence for social protection spending cushioning the blow of the crisis at least to some extent. Children were significantly less likely to be poor in countries with higher levels of social protection spending in 2008–2013, even after controlling for the socio-demographic structure of the population, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and the working-age unemployment rate. The poverty-dampening contextual effect of social spending was greater for the poverty risks of children in very low work intensity families and large families. The study uses two complementary thresholds of income poverty, both based on 60 percent of the national median: a relative poverty line and a threshold anchored in 2008. Although the choice of a poverty line makes a difference to aggregate child poverty rates, individual-level risks of a child being poor associated with a range of household-level characteristics are similar for the two poverty lines.

scholarly journals Unemployment and spell duration during the Great Recession in the EU

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Gradín ◽  
Olga Cantó ◽  
Coral del Río
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Unemployment Spells ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The Eu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different dynamic characteristics of unemployment in a selected group of European Union countries during the current Great Recession, which had unequal consequences on employment depending on the country considered. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows Shorrocks’s proposal of a duration-sensitive measure of unemployment, and uses cross-sectional data reported by Eurostat coming from European Labour Force Surveys. Findings – The results add some evidence on the relevance of incorporating spells’ duration in measuring unemployment, finding remarkable differences in unemployment patterns in time among European countries. Research limitations/implications – In this paper unemployment is analyzed for all the labor force. Future research should investigate patterns across specific groups such as young people, women, immigrants or the low skilled. Practical implications – It is generally accepted that the negative impact of unemployment on individual welfare can be very different depending on its duration. However, conventional statistics on unemployment do not adequately capture to what extent the recession is not only increasing the incidence of unemployment but also its severity in terms of duration in time of ongoing unemployment spells. The paper shows an easy and practical way to do it in order to improve the understanding of the unemployment phenomenon, using information usually reported by statistical offices. Originality/value – First, the paper provides a tool for dynamic analysis of unemployment based on reported cross-sectional data. Second, the paper demonstrates the empirical relevance of considering spells’ duration when assessing differences in unemployment across countries or in unemployment trends. This is usually neglected or only partially addressed by most conventional measures of unemployment.

Municipal response to the Great Recession

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 384-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Christian ◽  
Jonathan Bush
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Levels ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Financial Condition ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Great Recession on small- to medium-sized municipalities within the states of Georgia and Florida using a newly developed set of quantitative indices. Design/methodology/approach An examination of the methods and strategies utilized by individual cities to maintain public service levels despite distressed revenues is performed. From the data, performance measures are developed and used to evaluate the efficacy of the various strategies used by the cities. Outcomes of Georgia municipalities were compared to similarly sized Florida municipalities to study how underlying differences in tax structures and economies might have affected those outcomes. Findings Georgia and Florida municipalities relied on very different strategies for surviving the recession and its aftermath. Enterprise activities were critically important in both states with transfers to or from governmental activities rationalized in various ways. While Georgia is generally anti-property tax, more than half the Georgia municipalities relied on property tax increases to survive. Municipalities were unable to count on increased intergovernmental revenues during the recession. Finally, even with a tourist activity advantage, Florida municipalities fared only marginally better during and just after the recession, and fared worse four to six years post-recession. Practical implications The measures developed in this study provide a new, customizable methodology for the evaluation of financial condition that does not require in-depth comparisons to peers. Social implications Small- and medium-sized cities, and especially those in rural areas, are worthy of targeted research to better understand their unique problems. Originality/value This research is novel in utilizing a fiscal condition methodology that can be applied to a single municipality and does not require comparisons to peers for validity. However, it represents a very intuitive and customizable tool for making comparisons between municipalities of any size when such comparisons are desired. Additionally, the focus of this study is on small- to medium-sized municipalities which generally do not receive as much research attention as larger cities.

A breakfast of champions: brand marketing lessons from the Great Depression

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Peter Buell Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Great Depression ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Brand Marketing ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether the behavior of brands during the Great Depression held lessons for the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A review of brand marketing and advertising from the 1920s and 1930s. Findings There are many learnings from the Great Depression that are instructive for today’s brand marketers dealing with COVID-19. Research limitations/implications The review of the literature is not comprehensive and the findings are subjective. Practical implications Today’s brands can learn a great deal from the 1930s such as to take advantage of opportunities and avoid mistakes in today’s difficult environment. Social implications By handling today’s challenges skillfully, brands can refresh relationships with consumers overwhelmed with choices. Originality/value Though there was some commentary on this subject following the Great Recession of 2009, there has been little written about the lessons in brand marketing in the current situation.

scholarly journals Banks' sustainable growth challenge under economic recessionary pressure

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-451
Author(s):  
Maoyong Zheng ◽  
Cesar L. Escalante
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Economic Stress ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Agricultural Finance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Revenue Growth ◽  
Actual Growth

PurposeThis is a comparative study of the nature of operating decisions made by agricultural and non-agricultural banks, affecting their actual growth plans in the years around and during the Great Recession of 2008. The main empirical question is whether banks under greater economic stress shortly before, during, and immediately after the recession made deliberate adjustments in their growth decisions vis-à-vis predetermined sustainable levels.Design/methodology/approachHiggins' sustainable growth challenge is employed to evaluate banks' growth decisions involving four growth levers (profitability, earnings retention, asset management, and financial leverage). Actual growth trends are related to business growth rates deemed sustainable given available financial capability as prescribed by Higgins' model.FindingsBoth banking groups made cautious growth decisions during the sample period. Actual growth rates were below sustainable levels. Agricultural banks registered steadily increasing sustainable growth rates from the pre-recession years until the recovery period, while non-agricultural banks were more constrained to grow given their declining sustainable growth levels. Notably, agricultural banks showed relatively more aggressiveness in raising slightly actual revenue growth to levels much closer to sustainable levels. This could have resulted from their less volatile profit margin trends and usual pressure to maintain acceptable liquidity conditions in order to gain access to external funds.Originality/valueThis study presents an additional application of Higgins' model to agricultural finance. The comparative analysis of banking groups becomes even more relevant these days as recent economic discussions focus on indicators of an imminent recessionary period.

Robust malmquist productivity measurement: evidence from Spanish hotel industry during the Great Recession

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nickolaos G. Tzeremes
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Malmquist Productivity Index ◽  
Productivity Index ◽  
Productivity Change ◽  
Productivity Measurement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Crisis Period ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Robust Version

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a robust version of the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) in order to evaluate hotels' productivity levels during the Great Recession.Design/methodology/approachBased on the order-m frontiers, we apply a robust version of an MPI. We decompose the productivity into three robust components. We use a sample of hotels operating in the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and we decompose and evaluate their productivity levels during the period 2004–2013. Moreover, we evaluate hotels' productivity performance during the pre-crisis period, the US subprime crisis period, the global financial crisis (GFC), the sovereign debt crisis period and the after-crisis period.FindingsOur findings show that productivity did not deteriorate due to the adverse effects of economic crisis. This is mainly driven by increased technical change and the ability to operate at optimal scales. The long-term investment in innovation policies which are related to services and processes, appear to be the dominating feature behind hotels' productivity levels, which helped the hotel industry to recover quickly from the Great Recession.Originality/valueThe vast majority of empirical studies evaluating the productivity change in the hotel industry apply MPIs which are based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). However, the productivity measurement which is based on the nonparametric framework is sensitive to sample characteristics. In order to avoid such shortcomings, we apply a robust version of the MPI.

Pandemic profits

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-42
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Free Fall ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings COVID-19 is putting unprecedented pressure on the global economy, with the recovery from the Great Recession not yet complete. CSR may provide a method for stabilizing societies that are on the edge of free fall into economic calamity. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Populist Social Movements of the Great Recession*

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paris Aslanidis
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Unified Framework ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
The People ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Action Frame

Social movement scholars have thus far failed to give populism its deserved attention and to incorporate it into their field of study. Although sociologists, political scientists, and historians have explored diverse facets of the intersection of populism and social dissent, there has been no concerted effort towards building a comprehensive framework for the study of populist mobilization, despite its growing significance in the past decades. In this article I combine insights from populism studies, social movement scholarship, and social psychology to build a unified framework of analysis for populist social movements. I suggest populism is best understood as a collective action frame employed by movement entrepreneurs to construct a resonant collective identity of “the People” and to challenge elites. I argue that populism depends on the politicization of citizenship, and I apply this framework to the movements of the Great Recession to classify Occupy Wall Street and the European indignados as instances of a populist wave of mobilization, using data from archival material and a set of semistructured interviews with Greek activists.

scholarly journals Double down: economic downturn and increased competition impacts on casino gaming and employment

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Byron Marlowe ◽  
Tianshu Zheng ◽  
John Farrish ◽  
Jesus Bravo ◽  
Victor Pimentel
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Intervention Analysis ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Casino Gaming ◽  
Economic Downturns ◽  
The Us

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to create a more balanced, comprehensive and valid illustration of the relationships between casino gaming volume and employment during economic downturns in urban and rural locations in nondestination gaming states.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes gaming volumes and employment prior, during and after the recession of 2007–2009, using a time series with intervention analysis on a monthly coin in, table drop and regression analysis on employment impacts of casinos.FindingsFindings indicate that while there was a slight drop in gaming revenue and employment figures during the economic downturn, nondestination gaming locations such as Indiana proved relatively resilient to an economic downturn.Originality/valueThe Great Recession had no significant impact on gaming volume because gamblers chose to spend their more limited entertainment dollars on less expensive gaming options; in other words, casinos closer to home requiring the expenditure of fewer dollars on travel and/or hotel rooms. The current pandemic and pressures of the macro-environment again threaten the US gaming and casino market with an economic downturn and the results of this study are as timely as ever for hospitality professionals and social scientists to understand the behavior of casinos in recessionary environments.

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